The Elon Musk Tesla bitcoin mess sees the one-time darling of crypto enthusiasts everywhere – or at least the meme coin variants – go from billionaire hero to zero.
As Antoni Trenchev, co-managing partner at lending platform Nexo puts it in exclusive comments provided to insidebitcoins, “This week Elon Musk is acting out the memoir ‘How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.’
The days when Musk’s every tweet would see bitcoin – and of course Dogecoin – blast higher, seem to be receding in our collective Tesla rearview mirror.
Musk goes from crypto hero to zero
Things started to go off the rails at the weekend, when his much-anticipated appearance on the Saturday Night Live US TV comedy show turned out to be not so funny for his adoring Dogecoin-centric fans. His latest bombshell is adding to the backlash he’s now facing.
“First, he refers to Dogecoin as a “hustle” on Saturday Night Live, triggering a sell-off in the meme-coin, and now this volte-face on Bitcoin,” says Trenchev.
Maybe it all comes down to the split personality that is embodied in the being of Musk. On the one hand he personally seems to be attracted to crypto but on the other he is the CEO of a publicly listed company that is now one of the largest constituents of the S&P 500.
Elon Musk Tesla Bitcoin – Two faces of an engineering genius
Trenchev explains: “Jokes aside, this bombshell highlights the importance of separating Elon Musk the individual, and Elon Musk the custodian of the fortunes of Tesla and SpaceX.
“Sometimes the interests of both personas diverge. Elon Musk the individual might well have a strong conviction on Bitcoin and, SNL aside, an even stronger conviction on Dogecoin.
“However his Bitcoin stance is likely irreconcilable with his role as CEO of Tesla, which is a public company and answerable to shareholders and their ESG concerns.”
No one would deny that bitcoin mining has an impact on the environment but it is not quite the picture beloved of the media and crypto critics – the purveyors of often questionable stats about how BTC power consumption surpasses X country blah blah. This is not to belittle the question of environmental degradation but perhaps Musk should be reminded that in the west – as opposed to cheap coal China – 75% of bitcoin mining is conducted from renewable sources.
Nexo’s Trenchev: crypto community needs to “work harder to push renewable narrative”
Trenchev again: “In hindsight, this could be seen as a constructive episode because it brings attention to the elephant in the room: Bitcoin and its impact on the environment.
“The community now has to work even harder to push the renewable mining narrative. Bitcoin’s history has taught us that the pathway to universal acceptance isn’t without hurdles. This one will likely prove its biggest.”
We agree – in the West renewables are king in bitcoin mining and the industry needs to shout it from the rooftops, although with a lack of industry trade bodies with either national or international punch, getting that message out there is hard.
Who buys a Tesla with bitcoin anyway?
Regardless of how the mission to change the narrative on bitcoin mining progresses, Musk’s move to end acceptance of bitcoin payments for Tesla purchases, an announcement that was presumably informed by the Tesla board, begs the question: how many people were actually buying a Tesla with bitcoin. (Quick aside: yes, you might be forgiven for thinking that the Tesla board is in practice a one-man band.)
Maybe you would have been better to ‘hodl’ your bitcoin while inflation threatens to take the markets and the economy by the throat and put it upas collateral for a loan.
“Was anybody actually buying a Tesla with their Bitcoin? Who would convert their Bitcoin for a Tesla? That’s why we have services such as Nexo where you can have your Tesla and hold on to your Bitcoin by taking out a loan. It’s quite simple: Get a Bitcoin-backed credit line, give Elon some inflation-ridden, value-eroding dollars and keep your BTC!”
Sure, that’s the expected sales patter from Trenchev, but he does have a point.
Opportunity to accumulate bitcoin: “next key figure $75,000”
And the question we all want to know the answer to, has Musk just sparked off a big correction in the crypto market or can we expect consolidation to continue?
“Once the dust settles and the emotions subside, Tesla is still holding onto its pile of Bitcoin. Yes, Elon and Tesla haven’t covered themselves in glory, but BTC is still range bound between $46 – $65, where it’s been for three months.
“Call it consolidation or accumulation, BTC is getting comfortable in this range and readying itself for the next move up towards my next key figure of $75,000.”
So there you have it – if you’ve had enough of the Elon Musk Tesla bitcoin mess already, forget about it and just hang on to your bitcoin, or if you are somewhat bitcoin-light in your investment portfolio, take the opportunity to accumulate.
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